SUMMARY The demonstration that extracellular vesicles (EVs), carrying RNA, DNA, proteins and lipids, play important roles in maintaining human health as well as contribute to driving disease has opened up a whole new field of research. Therefore, EVs have tremendous biologic significance and clinical potential, making a meeting focused on this area of research both highly timely and quite significant. The proposed Gordon Research Conference (GRC) and Gordon Conference Seminar (GRS) entitled ?Extracellular Vesicles: Biologic Effects and Therapeutic Potential?, to be held at the Sunday River Resort in Newry, Maine, August 19-24, 2018, will bring together a very diverse array of senior and early career investigators in both basic and clinical fields. There will be an emphasis on promoting interactions between participants to facilitate the development of collaborative and translational research. GRCs are one of only a few types of meetings that facilitate these important interactions between senior and junior investigators. This GRC will be led off with keynote presentations by Peter Quesenberry and Alissa Weaver on the physio-pathological role of EVs followed by sessions covering: 1) Biogenesis, composition and characterization of EVs; 2) EVs as delivery vehicles; 3) EVs in Inflammation; 4) EVs and infectious diseases; 5) EVs in cancer; 6) EVs and clinical applications; 7) EVs in neurobiology; and 8) EVs and stem cells. General issues to be focused on will be EV heterogeneity, isolation and quantification strategies, trafficking of EVs, EVs as biomarkers and therapeutic efficacy of EVs. The objective of the second GRC and first GRS on extracellular vesicles is to encompass this rapidly growing research field of extracellular vesicles and RNA, bringing together a range of basic and clinical investigators focusing on issues of biologic actions of vesicles and clinical potential of vesicles both as biomarkers and therapeutics. Overall, the GRC and GRS on EVs promise to be very diverse and exciting conferences, which should lead to important collaborations that move the field forward both as to basic studies and clinical applications.